Work resumes on Bogard, Seldon road extension projects

WASILLA — Construction on two major Mat-Su Borough-managed road projects is underway this week, aided by a mild spring.

The Seldon Road extension will eventually push the road from its current planned terminus at Beverly Lake Road to Pittman Road. Officials expect construction on Phase I of that project to conclude by late summer.

Phase II, which will complete the extension to Pittman, is presently funded to the 75 percent design level, said Steve Kari of design consultants Stantech.

Over the winter, officials officially selected the so-called Fishback alignment (it’s the name of a smaller road that presently feeds into Beverly Lakes Road), citing the smaller impact footprint and lower cost, Kari said.

“The straightest road is the best road, actually,” he said.

Even though Mat-Su Borough Assembly members selected the preferred route in January, officials with the company were still making the rounds among community organizations in the area most likely to be affected by the Phase II construction, including the Meadow Lakes Community Council, Kari said.

Officials with the engineering firm were working on surveying the remainder of the route in preparation for the survey design, Kari said.

“What we’re doing now that it’s summer, is doing a wetland delineation around the route,” he said. “We’ll map what we think are wetlands along the route, and then we go to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and get them to agree.”

The company also will take core samples along the approved route for Phase II.

At the eastern end of the East-West Bogard-Seldon road system, construction resumed Monday on a project to extend Bogard Road from Colony High School to the Glenn Highway, according to the project website.

Planning for Phase II, road improvements and the extension of Felton Street to the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, also is underway. Signs along the Palmer Wasilla Highway warning of the closure of North Arabian Lane have been up since last week. The contractor is not permitted to restrict traffic between the hours of 5 and 9 a.m. or 1 and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, according to the project website.

For more information about the Seldon Road Extension project, visit bit.ly/1JOzmQ4.

For more information about the Bogard Road Extension project, visit bit.ly/1Ge4Wrw.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.